Cartel group dons military gear, warns of impending violence in Juárez

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A video showing masked men carrying firearms and identifying themselves as members of a Juárez cartel is the latest sign of deadly battles heating up among Mexican crime groups in the city, officials say.

In a video uploaded to social media, members of the Artistas Asesinos (Artist Assassins) insult and warn rival gang members.

"We're here and we're not leaving," says one masked man to the camera after members of the group cock their weapons.

According to Mexican government officials who reviewed the footage, the Artist Assassins, who once provided muscle for the Sinaloa Cartel in Ciudad Juárez, are the latest group to splinter off from the powerful crime syndicate once headed by Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

Mexican security officials say the Artist Assassins are the second criminal group to split from the city's main cartel this year due to internal conflicts.

In 2008, a major faction of the Sinaloa Cartel split from the powerful group, leading to a wave of gang violence in Mexico. The factionalism only worsened after the arrest of El Chapo in 2016 and his extradition to the U.S.